Masterful del Potro shrugs off rising teen

Juan Martin del Potro rolled back the years at the ASB Classic last night.

In his first match in Auckland since taking the title in 2009, the Argentine was at his imperious best, destroying the highly-rated Denis Shapovalov 6-2, 6-3 in just 65 minutes.

It was brutal. Del Potro unleashed a barrage of unstoppable forehands, the like of which we haven’t seen at Stanley street since he was last here almost a decade ago.

The world No 12 also served brilliantly, especially in the clutch moments. Del Potro has had to retool his game after his wretched injury history, but his main weapons are as deadly as ever, and he retains his big match temperament.

“I’m surprised with my level,” admitted del Potro. “I didn’t expect to be at this level for my first match of the year. But I have been working hard and hopefully I can show this again.”

And against one of the sport’s new entertainers, del Potro was again a fan favourite.

“It’s so nice to come back to this place,” said del Potro. “Many Argentine fans come to support me in this tournament and also the crowd was full and I enjoyed it a lot.”

It was one of the most anticipated second round matches in the tournament’s history, the quintessential old dog versus young gun battle.

World No 50 Shapovalov had thrilled the crowd on Monday night with enthralling mix of power and precision, bouncing around the court like a young Rafa Nadal.

But he couldn’t reach those heights last night, or wasn’t allowed to by a ruthless del Potro.

“I was struggling on my serve a bit,” said Shapovalov. “I was a bit too excited, going for a lot, mishitting a bit. He was serving incredible, playing really well, that’s why he is who is is.”

In today’s quarter-final del Potro faces 1.98m Russian Karen Khachanov in a twin towers battle.

“He has a big serve, he is as tall as me,” said del Potro. “His forehand is very powerful and I will see if I can play at the same level as [yesterday].”

The final match last night was one of the best contests of the tournament, a three-set thriller.

For long periods Korean teenager Hyeon Chung managed what is usually a near impossible feat — he neutralised John Isner’s booming serve and won 7-6, 5-7, 6-2.

Chung returned exceptionally, reading the Isner serve, and constantly moved the 2.08m American around the court.